New York Department of Corrections: What Families Need to Know (2026)
New York's guide is the biggest in this batch, covering all 41 facilities on the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision list, and it pays to learn the system's shared patterns before you pick a facility. Most facilities allow three visitors plus one child under five, who must sit on an adult's lap. Many split weekend visiting by last name or by the last digit of the incarcerated person's DIN, so your visiting day may depend on a letter or a number. People in SHU custody are generally limited to one non-legal visit per seven-day period, and if the visiting room overcrowds, local visits within 100 miles may be ended after three hours first.
Weekend and holiday visiting is the common rhythm, usually in the morning through early afternoon. Adirondack runs weekends and holidays 8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., with latest arrival at 2:00 p.m. Bedford Hills visits daily, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., with weekends split alphabetically by last name. Attica visits Wednesdays and weekends 8:45 a.m.–3:00 p.m., with up to two split visits a day. A few facilities break the pattern: Shawangunk visits daily 8:30 a.m.–2:15 p.m., while Edgecombe Residential Treatment Facility has had no visitation program since July 1, 2022.
Mail addresses vary by facility, and several use a P.O. Box for incarcerated individual mail, such as P.O. Box 618, Auburn, NY 13021 for Auburn, and P.O. Box 2001, Dannemora, NY 12929 for Clinton. The department is led by Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III, and its central office phone is (518) 457-5000. Schedules change, so always call the facility to confirm before traveling.
Full guide: https://8a1c6da4-9eeb-47b4-b576-ee932f459420.usrfiles.com/ugd/de0afa_132e6908af454eadacc9f7e784d12199.pdf
Cell Secretary is a white-glove concierge service for incarcerated people and their families. If it can be done legally and ethically on the outside, we can usually do it for you.
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